91 Seconds
by scatteredfireflies
Summary: When Alfred enters a surfing competition without his family's knowing, he didn't expect to fall in love with a mysterious sailor competing in the same place. Their relationship blossoms, but as he fawns over his new found crush, he doesn't realize the importance of the friends he's drifting away from, or the secrets that they hold. USUK, plus a surprise ship! Multi chapter.
1. Acrobatics

"God damn it Alfred, you're taking too long in there, you're going to be late!"

"Just a sec, Keeks. I can hardly move in here, I feel like I'm stuck in a tin can or something like that." Alfred moved to lean back against what he thought was the beige tile of the changing room to pull up his trunks, but instead felt a falling sensation overcome him as sunlight hit his eyes. Black spots floated through his vision as he stared up at the sky. He landed on the ground with a grunt, his mouth filling with hot sand. His friend jumped back, turning bright red and looking around to see if anyone had noticed the young man tumble out from behind the curtain.

"Alfred.."

"Mhhph."

"Pull up your, um…"

He looked behind him and noticed his swimsuit still lying on the cement floor inside. "Oh. Um, sorry about that, Kiku," he replied, lifting himself off of the ground as he reached for the suit.

Kiku averted his eyes, hoping no one had noticed him standing around the area of all the commotion. "What the hell!" he hissed. "You don't even care that you're in the nude?! There are children here, Alfred! Censor yourself!"

"I don't look _that _bad." Alfred pulled the trunks up and turned back to Kiku. "Better?"

"Sure." Kiku looked down at his feet for a short moment, then held out a long orange surfboard . "You're going to be late. Hurry up."

"I know, I know, you already said that," Alfred replied, quickly taking the board and putting it under his own arm. "You know, you really should be grateful that I let you come along." With that, he turned and ran out towards the crowded beach.

"Come along? I'm the one with the car!" Kiku nearly shouted as he chased after him.

…

Alfred felt constricted as he pushed through the mob of people watching the waves. He knew when he had signed up for this competition there would be at least hundreds of people, but this was much more than that. It was a wonder that it wasn't being televised, he thought. A wonder and a blessing. _If my parents saw that I was gone while they were away…_

"They… are going… to kill you…" Kiku huffed, echoing Alfred's thoughts.

Alfred turned around, smirking. "Actually, like you said, you're the one with the car. Therefore, I'm probably not going to be held responsible." He laughed, making the people around him turn for a moment as they noticed the loud noise, then they turned back to their conversations. He gave Kiku a rough pat on the back, then pointed over to the bleachers that had been set up by the sea. "Now go sit down, it's going to start soon."

"You know what-"

"Ahem. I could always tell my parents you took me here to watch. And that the entire time I was trying to convince… no, I was begging, even pleading, that you would turn around and take me back to finish all of my housework. Then the blame really would be all on you." He frowned, trying to act serious.

"How the hell are you going to survive in college…" Kiku shook his head and made his way towards the stands.

"Oh, shut up! I really am thankful that you brought me, buddy!" he shouted after him.

"_Last call for Division 36, if the remaining participants could report to the referee to sign in."_

His smirk didn't fade as he jogged over to the referee, who was standing in the midst of the mob of people, looking rather stressed. "Hey," he said, stopping in front of him. "Alfred Jones for Division 36?"

"Alfred…" the man scanned his clipboard, pointing to each name with his ballpoint pen, then circled Alfred's. "Would you look at that, you're the last one we need to check in. Good luck, kid."

"Thanks," he replied. "I'll probably need it. This is my first time at a competition this big."

"Really?" The man gave the announcer a thumbs up, telling him that they were good to go, then turned back to Alfred. "How old are you?"

"I'm seventeen. I've been surfing ever since I was four."

"Four?" The referee laughed heartily, the sort of laugh one would expect Santa Claus to have. "You've been at this a long time, then." He gave Alfred a rough pat on the back. "You'll do fine. Just go at it like you always do, don't pay attention to anything else. Just you and the waves."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the International Water Sports Cup will now begin event 36, Longboard Surfing. Contestant order goes as follows. Alfred Jones, Jason Logner, Alex Privet…"

Alfred took in a deep sigh and walked out towards the waves. Sand grew wet beneath his feet and he stopped, waiting for the signal to begin. "Remember what the ref said," he muttered to himself over the crashing waves. "Don't think, just feel."

"_This division is judged on length of time spent on the board. Alfred, if you could please begin."_

He ran into the surf, feet pounding against the sandy sea floor, sending up clouds of dust beneath the water. Once he could no longer run against the pressure of the sea, he threw his board down in front of him, leaping onto it stomach first and paddling out to the sea. Wind whipped through the air, spraying his blond hair with mist from the waves ahead. Before him he saw a wave beginning to form, and he moved into a kneeling position. The announcer behind him was a distant voice, unrecognizable beneath the roar of the ocean. He pulled himself up to his feet and balanced along the wave, leaning and tilting as the sea tried to knock him down.

Ahead of him was a group of sailboats who seemed to be racing in the next division. He watched them closely as the wave began to curl around him. Small crewmembers scuttled around on the decks, like ants working to lift a larger insect. Ropes were being tossed this way and that, sails being hoisted and lowered and boats turning within inches of touching their hulls together. Alfred smiled to himself. It seemed like an interesting sport, but they weren't even touching the water. It didn't seem too hard.

A heavy burst of wind came, plastering Alfred's hair to his forehead. Suddenly the boats began lifting out of the water, their two hulls becoming unbalanced. A few members of the crew ran to the side lifting out of the water, attaching themselves to a sort of harness. As he drew nearer, he could see that they were leaning out over the ocean, spray splashing over the sides of the boats as the gusts grew heavier.

His breath hitched and caught in his chest. He couldn't see too clearly from a distance, but a young man ahead of him looked as though he was about to fall out of the boat. His blond hair was a mess in the wind, and he held on to the boat with one hand holding the other one out as though he were feeling the wind. A large smile was spread across his face as he let himself fly past the other boats. It was like acrobatics. It was…

"… beautiful…" Alfred whispered breathlessly. How anyone could stay balanced like that was beyond him. Especially someone with as small a body as the person on the boat. It was almost as though he would be carried away by the wind, but he stayed grounded, holding to the boat with a grip as hard as death. "Absolutely beau-"

Water rushed around him, causing him to spiral out of control. Salt stung his eyes and whirlpools of bubbles surrounded him. Which way was up? Which way was out? He kicked hard, looking up at the sun's rays dancing on the surface of the water, and broke through the surface.

"Damn it," he hissed, frantically searching for his board out in the open water. A glint of orange floated behind him, and he quickly swam over to it.

"Alfred Jones currently holds the longest time with ninety-one seconds," the announcer blared over the intercom.

"Ninety-one?" Alfred climbed on his board and let the waves take him in. That time was much too short. Anyone could hold on for a minute and a half. Hell, an infant could do better than he did. He had gotten distracted. Distracted by that stupid person on the sailboat. That stupid person who held on so gracefully, so powerfully. How was that possible? And why couldn't he do it, too? Why couldn't he have held on?

His feet hit sand and he walked slowly over to the beach. He could hear the quiet murmur of people discussing his performance. Kiku stared at him from the bleachers with a pained expression. He stood and made his way down to the beach, slowly maneuvering around the groups of giggling attendees.

Alfred looked away as he came up to him, frowning. "I'm sorry…" he began.

"Don't be," Kiku sighed, looking out at the waves. "Sometimes we have a rough day, you'll do better next time."

"I didn't qualify!" Alfred shouted. "There is no next time, I just totally embarrassed myself in front of hundreds of people."

There was a moment of silence as Kiku let the information sink in. "Well…" he started. "We may as well stay. We have the hotel already. Why not watch some more of the competition?"

Alfred shook his head.

"What about…"

"I want to watch the sailing," Alfred interjected before he could begin.

"Sailing?"

"There was someone there… I can't explain it Kiku, we just have to."

His friend narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by 'someone'?"

"Just… there was this person, and he was amazing. At least, from a distance. And I kind of want to meet him. He just looked so… awesome"

Kiku looked at his feet once again, then threw up his hands with a sudden inexplicable frustration. "Fine," he mumbled as he began to walk towards the bleachers for the sailing races. "Fine, whatever makes you happy."

Alfred took a step back, confused by the sudden change in tone. "If you don't want to…"

"No," Kiku looked back at him, smiling rather unsettlingly. "No, we'll go watch some sailing Alfred."

**A/N: Ugh. This took longer than I would have liked. Anyway, here's your first chapter guys! It isn't fantastic, I have a lot I want to go back and fix as the storyline progresses, but it's all right for the first draft here. Please feel free to leave suggestions to make my writing better, it's much appreciated! **


	2. Math

"You seriously think he's going to be here. This is irrational, Alfred."

Both Alfred and Kiku stood by the docks where the sailors were now getting off of their boats. The area was crowded, but not in nearly the same way it had been at the surfing competition a half an hour earlier. Wind whistled past and kept the area feeling open as the crewmembers hurriedly took down their sails. Everything was in a busy bustle, as opposed to a stagnant mob.

"I do think he's going to be here, Kiku," Alfred said, breathing in the sea breeze. He was dressed back in his t-shirt, but still wore his swim trunks as bottoms. "Of course he would be. Where else would he be?"

Kiku frowned. "I just feel like we aren't supposed to be here. We should be back in our own area."

Alfred turned to him. "Aw, poor Kiku. Afraid of a little excitement. How sad." His voice was tinged with mock sympathy.

"It's a very good thing we've been friends for a while. Otherwise I would have punched you by now."

"I'm sure. Now where is his boat?" Waves crashed against the docks as the wind became heavier. Alfred scanned the area, searching for the boat he had seen earlier.

"Really," Kiku interrupted, trying to get his attention. "I don't think he's going to bother. The chances of him talking to you are really quite slim, if you do the math-"

"I hate math, Kiku. It takes the trill out of everything."

Kiku put his hand on his forehead, frustrated. "I'm majoring in engineering, Alfred, everything is about math."

"But it's awful!" Alfred continued to watch as a few men pulled ropes down from their boat. "All those numbers get so confusing. How can you stand it?"

"Alfred, I have offered so many times to tutor you in math, but you always tell me 'No, I understand it! I swear!' You've been lying, haven't you?"

"What's this about math?"

Alfred jumped, hearing an unfamiliar voice. He quickly looked towards the dock beside him where a man stood, arms folded over his chest, looking rather upset. His blond hair was a mess, having been blown by the wind for so long.

"It's you!" Alfred exclaimed. The man looked confused and raised an eyebrow, his green eyes listening with wariness.

"What on earth are you talking about, have we met?" he asked him. Alfred smiled wider, noticing his rather obvious accent.

"Wow, you're from England? That's so cool! Pip pip cheerio, my good sir!" he joked. Kiku gave him a flustered look.

The man sighed and shook his head. "You didn't answer the question."

Alfred shrugged. "I was watching the sailing competition. You looked really good."

"Oh…" He blushed a bright red, embarrassed at the compliment. "I'm really not that good though…"

"Are you kidding? You were great! It was almost like gymnastics or something out there. You have a lot of skill… um…"

He held out his hand. "Arthur. Arthur Kirkland. And you are?"

"Uh, I'm Alfred. Alfred Jones. This is my friend Keeks here." He gestured over to Kiku, who had been trying to quickly and quietly make his escape from the awkward conversation. He stopped and turned back to them.

Arthur smiled. "Nice meeting you both. I hope Keeks isn't too upset we haven't included him in the conversation?"

"It's Kiku, actually," he began, walking towards the two of them.

"But Mr. Jones just told me it was Keeks," Arthur said, looking entirely confused.

Alfred laughed loudly, giving Kiku a pat on the back. "That's just his nickname. He likes Kiku better."

Arthur nodded with understanding. "I see. And how long have you two known each other?"

"We met at the beginning of high school. Kiku is nineteen, he's going to be attending college soon."

"Really?" Arthur shot Kiku a surprised look. "You don't seem that old."

Kiku tried his hardest not to roll his eyes. Instead he plastered a smile on his face and shook his head. "I get that a lot. Everyone thinks Alfred is older than me. He's only seventeen though."

"He's going into math," Alfred interrupted.

"Engineering!" Kiku said, annoyed.

"Engineering, are you?" Alfred watched as Arthur contemplated the career choice. "I wouldn't be able to do it. But it seems interesting enough. What college are you going to?"

Alfred cut in before his friend could speak. "You have an awesome accent," he stated rather absentmindedly.

Arthur took in a deep breath, looking from Kiku to Alfred to Kiku again. "Well, that comes as a surprise as well, Alfred." He looked at Kiku with sympathy, then back to the boy standing in front of him. "What brings you over here, Alfred?"

"I was surfing," Alfred announced, feeling a little blush rise in his cheeks and he continued to talk. "But I saw the sailing and I had to come and watch. Again, you were really good. Really."

"You've said that. You're only seventeen and you're surfing internationally?"

"Yeah. I've been surfing for as long as I can remember. I kind of flopped on the competition though. I didn't even make it into the next round."

Arthur shot him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. What do you think happened?"

"I looked at you." He automatically regretted letting the words leave his mouth. "I swear, that wasn't a pickup line. It wasn't, it just sounded like it."

"It's okay," Arthur said, though he looked rather red himself. "But… you were watchin me while you competed? I really do apologize…"

"Don't, it was wonderful," Alfred cut in again. H elet out a loud groan. "There I go again," he said. "Seeming like I'm hitting on random people. When I obviously am not."

"Obviously," Kiku muttered, watching the two other men from a distance.

The conversation stopped for a moment. The three of them listened to the waves lapping against the shore, as the gulls flew overhead, calling out to each other. It was anything but relaxing for anyone as they waited to speak.

"Anyway," Alfred said, breaking the silence. "Keeks here wanted to learn how to sail. We were wondering where we could get some lessons."

"We were?" Kiku whispered, shocked.

Arthur looked over at his boat and towards the two of them. "Well, I don't have all the time in the world. But I'd be willing to give some lessons, I suppose."

"Then we could… grab dinner afterwards maybe?" Alfred pursed his lips together, waiting for the answer.

Arthur stood there in shock, then laughed loudly. "Is that what this is all about? Going out to dinner?"

Kiku nodded as Alfred shook his head. Arthur only laughed harder. "The two of you are so odd."

Kiku sighed, looking over at Alfred. "I didn't really want to sail, though."

Alfred shrugged. "Well if you don't want to you can head back to the hotel."

"But how will you get back-"

"I'll walk. It isn't that far. Or I could always catch a taxi. This is Miami, after all. I just really want to-"

"Get in my pants," Arthur interjected. Alfred froze as he felt a blush rise in his cheeks. "N-no, not at all, that's not-"

"Yes it was," Kiku said, exasperated. "Just go, Alfred, he's letting you ride in the boat. I'll be at the hotel if you need me, I guess."

Alfred looked back to Arthur. He stood shorter than him, but still seemed extremely intimidating. "Um…let me explain…"

"No need for explanation," Arthur chuckled. "I can tell how you're feeling by the look on your face. Feel free to come aboard if you want."

Alfred felt his heart beat a little faster. "Really? And… and dinner afterwards?"

Arthur started walking to the boat. "That all depends on how well you do, sailor. You're going pretty slow right now, though. You might want to hurry up and put on a vest."

Alfred felt a smile creep back up on his face. He quickly grabbed a life jacket from where they were left lying on the dock and slung it over himself. He jogged to catch up with Arthur, who was stepping carefully onto the boat. "I have no clue what I'm doing," he burst out as Arthur held out his hand to help him onto the boat.

Arthur looked as though he were thinking for a moment. "We met two minutes ago," he announced after a moment of silence. "I guess neither of us know what we're doing, then." He laughed and pulled Alfred onto the boat. "Prepare to set sail!"

Alfred laughed. It was crazy how two minutes could change a day entirely.

_Thank god for those ninety-one seconds now._


End file.
